Detained Bohemia developers denied appeal, must stand trial

Bohemia Interactive Ivan Buchta Martin Pezlar

The end date for Greece's strike within its justice system has come and gone, but Bohemia Interactive developers Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar remain jailed in what the studio called " an unmitigated disaster " after both men were charged with espionage while on the Greek island of Lemnos. In a report by Czech news site Rozhlas , a Greek court dismissed Buchta and Pezlar's petition to appeal and denied bail, effectively sealing a required trial with a sentence up to 20 years for a guilty verdict.

Buchta and Pezlar have remained in jail for nearly 70 days. Their families have asked for the direct assistance of Czech President Václav Klaus and Prime Minister Petr Nečas. A Foreign Ministry representative told Rozhlas the government is "working very intensively" on the issue on "virtually all possible levels." A fan campaign calling for the pair's release acts as a hub of up-to-date information regarding the incarceration.

"Our boys no longer tell us on the phone that it's alright, that they're handling it," Buchta's mother, Hana Buchtova, said. "After the court's decision, we only hear from them something that no parent ever wants to hear: 'Mom, Dad, please save us.'"

Omri Petitte

Omri Petitte is a former PC Gamer associate editor and long-time freelance writer covering news and reviews. If you spot his name, it probably means you're reading about some kind of first-person shooter. Why yes, he would like to talk to you about Battlefield. Do you have a few days?